Falcao and Pato leave Chelsea at end of loan deals

Chelsea have confirmed the departures of forwards Radamel Falcao and Alexandre Pato at the end of their loan deals, while squad goalkeeper Marco Amelia will also leave Stamford Bridge.

Falcao had joined the Blues on a season-long deal from Monaco following a spell at Manchester United. However, the 30-year-old Colombian made a limited impact with just 12 appearances as he was hampered by injury setbacks.

Pato, meanwhile, was signed from Corinthians in January but the Brazilian struggled with fitness issues and made only two first-team appearances under interim manager Guus Hiddink.

Amelia, meanwhile, was signed on a short-term contract to provide cover for then injured goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

Chelsea confirmed the news in a statement on the club’s official website, which went on to detail the players’ involvement with the squad.

“With contracts having come to an end, we today say farewell to three players who were part of the squad during last season – Falcao, Pato and Marco Amelia,” the statement read.

“Chelsea Football Club thanks the players for their contributions and wishes them success in the future.”

New manager Antonio Conte is set to take up his role following the end of Italy’s Euro 2016 campaign.

The Blues are expected to secure the £33m transfer of Belgium striker Michy Batshuayi from Marseille.

Chelsea also this week announced new scholars for the 2016/2017 season, which include midfielder Juan Familia-Castillo, who joins the club from Ajax where he captained the under-16 side as well as representing Holland.